Some workplace mistakes are virtually unavoidable—the result of unclear instructions, impossible deadlines, or tiny blunders that balloon into huge issues down the road. But some work fuckups are complete unforced errors, like the one happening to an unidentified NYPD officer, caught on camera being homophobic over his squad car PA system on October 26 by a random bike influencer.
"Suck my dick," the cop says into the speaker, his body turned away from the passenger side window, as the car idles at a red light on the corner of Lexington and 106th Avenue in East Harlem. "Suck my dick!" someone without a megaphone, based on the quieter volume of their voice, shouts back. "Suck my dick, f****t," the cop repeats. He then turns, wide-eyed, as the man recording him bikes up and alerts the cop of an onlooker's presence with a simple, "Yeah?!"
The now-viral video has, according to reports, sparked an ongoing internal review into the incident. "The Department does not tolerate discrimination in any form and is committed to respectful work environments for our diverse workforce," the NYPD said in a statement to NBC News last week. But what is there to review, really? A man who has the City-vested power to legally kill people, when placed in front of a megaphone, had a spark of inspiration to do something stupid and bigoted—and was dumb enough to act on it.
And ultimately, given the NYPD's track record on offensive language—a 2021 report from the Intercept found that the department paid out $500,000 over a four-year period for complaints involving racist, homophobic, or sexist comments from cops—that's not very surprising.
Some more less-than-surprising behavior from New York law enforcement:
- On October 27, off-duty City Correction officer Louie Herschtein was charged with menacing and false impersonation for making a traffic stop and telling the driver he pulled over that he was a police officer. Grind never stops, I guess.
- Also on October 27, the state Attorney General's office declined to prosecute NYPD officer James Cameron, of the controversial Neighborhood Safety Team, who shot and killed Quayshawn Samuel last December. According to Cameron, who dropped his radio and body camera while chasing Samuel, Samuel refused to drop a gun, necessitating the shooting—but according to an attorney representing Samuel's family, Samuel's DNA was not on the gun that he'd allegedly been wielding.
- Finally, on October 27, NYPD tow truck driver Stephanie Sharp was charged with failure to yield to a pedestrian and failure to exercise due caution after she hit and killed 7-year-old Kamari Hughes—while, according to witnesses Hell Gate spoke to, using her cell phone.
- On October 28, NYPD officer Lukasz Mokrzycki was arrested and charged with a colorful spread of car crimes: third degree aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, operation of a motor vehicle without insurance, motor vehicle violation for an unregistered vehicle, and license plate violation for improper plates. I am dying to see what contraption he was driving.
- On October 29, former state Corrections officer Jason Pass allegedly shot and killed two of his neighbors, Chinwai Mode and Bladimy Mathurin, over an ongoing noise-related dispute in their East Flatbush apartment. According to a New York Daily News report from 2005, Pass was fired from his job at Sing Sing Correctional Facility after being arrested for pointing a gun at two plainclothes cops during a road rage incident. On November 1, NYPD officers shot and killed Pass while trying to arrest him, an incident that Gothamist reported is under routine investigation by the state AG.
- Also on November 1, Administration for Child Services Police Captain David Inshiqaq was arrested and accused of "carrying a forged document, disregarding a traffic device, and having improper license plates on his vehicle." Bad couple of weeks for cops in cars.
- On November 4, off-duty NYPD police communications technician Aaliya Thompson was arrested in the Bronx and charged with assault, attempted assault, menacing and harassment.
- Also on November 4, two NYPD employees were arrested over domestic disputes. Traffic enforcement agent Area Langdon was charged with criminal mischief after her boyfriend claimed she broke his TV during an argument, and traffic enforcement agent Osayuki Osunbar was charged with two counts of acting in a manner injurious to a child under 17 and criminal trespass for pushing his sister's children during a fight in her home.
Got information about any bad behavior from the cops that we missed? Shoot us an email at tips@hellgatenyc.com.
